Chronicle/Cory MorseDon Mengel, left, and Tim Maycroft of JK Masonry in Comstock Park, work on the construction of a wall for the Baker College of Muskegon Center for Culinary Arts Wednesday in downtown Muskegon. "I'm building my downtown back up," Mengel said. He is a Muskegon native and Maycroft is from Ravenna. Enlarge photo

It's been named. Now it has a physical foundation.Construction of the new $11 million Baker College of Muskegon Culinary Institute of Michigan in downtown Muskegon is proceeding on schedule, Baker President Rick Amidon said.

"It's about 12 percent complete," said Amidon. "We're still on schedule for a September (2009) opening."

Many of the new building's interior walls, made of brick and mortar, already have been erected and deliveries of steel will begin to arrive this month, Amidon said. The three-story building is being constructed at Third Street and Clay Avenue.

When completed, the 39,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will feature an onsite restaurant and coffee shop staffed by students and open to the public. Working in the restaurant and coffee shop is part of the students "classroom" experience.

Chronicle/Cory MorseThe new culinary arts center is going up at the corner of Third Street and Clay Avenue on a site that most recently was a parking lot for the former Muskegon Mall. Enlarge photo

School officials envision a world-class cooking and food preparation program that will attract students from around the world.

The new school will feature some of the latest food preparation technology in the world, Alex Erdmann, Baker's dean of culinary arts, has promised. An "airspeed" oven will cook a frozen chicken in 20 minutes using a combination of steam, air flow and microwaves, he said.

An open classroom will give students the chance to work with a variety of instructors and interact with their peers as they move through the various levels of classes, school administrators say. The school will offer a baking and pastry certificate, culinary arts associate degrees in business and administration, food and beverage management associate's and bachelor's degrees in business administration.

Baker's current culinary program now is housed on the main campus on Marquette Avenue. During its 10-year existence, the program has become one of the most popular at Baker.

Chronicle/Cory MorseStacks of cement blocks wait to be used at the construction site. Enlarge photo